The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Liberty
No. 3/2 Softball preview: the Longhorn Invitational
03.05.2020 | Softball
Texas welcomes Liberty, New Mexico and Texas Southern to McCombs Field for a three-day event
No. 3/2 Texas (20-3) hosts the Longhorn Invitational | March 6-8 | Red & Charline McCombs Field, Austin, Texas
Schedule:
Friday, March 6
11:00am Texas Southern vs. New Mexico – LONGHORN NETWORK
1:30pm Texas Southern vs. Liberty – LONGHORN NETWORK
4:00pm Liberty vs. TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
Saturday, March 7
10:00am Texas Southern vs. TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
12:30pm New Mexico vs. Texas Southern – LONGHORN NETWORK
*(tape delayed until 7:30 p.m. CT)
3:00pm New Mexico vs. Liberty – LONGHORN NETWORK
*(tape delayed until 9:30 p.m. CT)
5:30pm Liberty vs. TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
Sunday, March 8
9:30am New Mexico vs. TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
12:00pm New Mexico vs. Liberty – LONGHORN NETWORK
*(tape delayed until 4:30 p.m. CT)
*home team is listed second for all games
TEXAS CLEAR BAG POLICY: Please note that there is a Clear Bag Policy in effect for fans when attending Texas Athletic events. For more details, please visit this LINK
Location: Austin, Texas (Red & Charline McCombs Field)
Ticket Information: LINK
Live Stats: Available for every game of the Longhorn Invitational here: LINK
Television: Every game at the Longhorn Invitational is slated for live broadcast on Longhorn Network with two separate crews – Alex Loeb (play-by-play) and Megan Willis (color)/Trey Bender (play-by-play) and Erin Miller (color).
Radio: Texas' games are slated for radio broadcast via web stream with Andrew Haynes on the call via this LINK. The Texas broadcasts can also be heard locally this weekend in Austin on 105.3 FM in the local and surrounding areas, part of the Austin Radio Network supported by the flagship radio station of the Longhorns, 104.9 FM The Horn.
Base Knocks:
- Texas rose to No. 1 in the Softball America poll on March 3, marking the first time the Longhorns have topped any national softball poll since April 5, 2006, a span of almost 14 years.
- Texas has had loads of success this season against ranked teams, posting a 5-1 mark in those match-ups with wins over No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Washington, No. 10/9 Louisiana, No. 12 Tennessee and No. 13/11 Michigan.
- Her nickname's "LB" but she ought to change it to "2B!" Junior utility player Lauren Burke currently leads the Big 12 & ranks SECOND IN NCAA DIVISION I in doubles (12) while rating eighth in the nation in doubles-per-game (0.60).
- In all three of Texas' defeats this season, the Longhorns have lost by just one run while managing to put the tying run on base in the seventh inning.
- Freshman pitcher Courtney Day has been a revelation so far in her first season, hitting .354 with a team-leading five HR's while going 4-0 in the circle with a squad-best 1.18 ERA. She posted her first career two-HR game in the loss to Fresno State (2/29).
- With 10 K's against Boise State (3/1), senior pitcher Miranda Elish struck out 10-or-more batters in a game for the 24th time in her All-American career (13th time at Texas and third time in 2020).
- Texas has trailed at some point in 10 games this season and rallied back to win seven of those: Wichita State (trailed in 1st), Texas A&M-CC (1st), Utah (7th), North Texas (7th), Lipscomb (2nd), UCLA (1st) and Boise State (4th).
- So far in 2020, Texas is 18-2 when out-hitting its opponent, 14-2 when scoring first and 9-2 when scoring in the first inning.
- With the 1-0 win over Michigan on Feb. 29 at the Judi Garman Classic, 11th-year head coach Mike White picked up his 500TH CAREER WIN. With a .792 career winning percentage, White currently rates as the third-winningest active coach in NCAA Division I softball behind only Florida's Tim Walton (.796) and Arizona's Mike Candrea (.794).
- Texas' 174 runs scored over its first 23 games are the most in any season in program history. The previous high after the initial 23 contests was 159 runs by the 2012 Longhorns squad.
- Watch out for Texas with two outs in an inning. So far through 23 games, the Burnt Orange & White are batting .404 (82-of-203) with 66 two-out RBIs (40% of the team's total RBIs have come with two outs this season). Junior third baseman Mary Iakopo leads the team with eight two-out RBIs while 16 Longhorns own at least one two-out RBI.
- Junior second baseman Janae Jefferson is off to another hot start with the bat, currently rating first in the Big 12 in total hits (32 - fourth in NCAA Division I as of 3/2), batting average (.516 - 14th in NCAA Division I), on-base percentage (.587 - 12th in NCAA Division I) and runs scored-per-game (1.13 - 33rd in NCAA Division I).
- The Longhorns have been strong this season with runners in scoring position, hitting .412 (94-of-228) in such instances. Junior third baseman Mary Iakopo leads the team with 11 hits, while senior pitcher/utility Miranda Elish (.533, 8-of-15) owns the highest average of any regular with at least 10 at-bats with RISP.
- Look out for Texas during the fourth inning as the Longhorns have now outscored opponents in the frame, 51-5. Overall, UT has scored 29% of its total runs in the fourth inning this season.
- With 52 doubles through 23 games (2.26 doubles-per-game), the Longhorns are well ahead of the pace needed to break the school single-season mark of 91 doubles set by the 2019 team. Maintaining its current pace over the next 33 games, Texas would finish a 56-game regular-season schedule with approximately 127 doubles. UT RANKED FIRST IN NCAA DIVISION I IN TOTAL DOUBLES & SECOND IN DOUBLES-PER-GAME (3/2).
- Junior second baseman and two-time All-American Janae Jefferson currently ranks as the school's career leader in batting average at .416 (well ahead of Lexy Bennett at .385), while rating second all-time in on-base percentage (.471). The Humble, Texas, native is also closing in on the 200-hit mark with 186 total hits through her first two+ seasons in the Burnt Orange & White.
- Softball America listed four Longhorns in their 2020 Top 100 National Player Rankings: No. 30 Janae Jefferson, No. 32 Miranda Elish, No. 36 Shea O'Leary and No. 47 Mary Iakopo.
